Whether you like Joan Jett or not, you'll recognize the songs and appreciate the story behind them.

"Don't listen to so-called experts. I sent a tape in 1980 to all the record companies, all the majors and minors at the time, 23 of them; "Crimson and Clover," "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." They all wrote me back rejection letters. That either tells me they don't listen to the tapes they get or they can't hear hits. It's scary they passed on all of those hits. So, if you think you've got what it takes and really believe in yourself and you're ready to take a lot of crap and still want to do it, go for it."

I know it's easy in a blog post for me to remind you the importance of believing in yourself, but it's the most important trait you need to have. My buddy, Ron Dawson had me on as a podcast recently and the episode went live yesterday. On the podcast, he asked me the biggest mistake I've made, and my answer was "not believing in myself." It happens to all of us.

So, you have to keep working on things to build your confidence. You have to keep developing your skill set, presenting the best images you can capture/create. With every client, make working with you an experience. If you've got a passion for teaching/speaking, start out with smaller groups and keep fine-tuning your message. In establishing a new business, you need to be active in your community and always work to establish a strong brand. The key is to keep challenging yourself and have faith in your abilities.

Your success is about your passion for the craft. There it is, that word "passion" comes up over and over again in so many posts, but here's what happens. Stay focused on your dreams. When you least expect it, everything is going to come together!

"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." Brian Tracy

"Why?"

Check out"Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog.It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound byte. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. There were fifty different artists featured in 2016 and we anticipate doubling that in 2017. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

Authors

Skip Cohen is President of SCU, founder of Marketing Essentials International and past president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. He's been an active participant in the photographic industry since joining Hasselblad USA in 1987 as president. He has co-authored six books on photography and actively supports dozens of projects each year involving photographic education.

Special Guests

SCU is proud to bring you some of the most recognized photographers in the industry. You'll also meet a few not so well known, but with terrific ideas to help you build a stronger business model.

Scott Bourne

Scott Bourne has retired, but as the first Dean of Marketing at SCU, a professional photographer and educator his support was critical to the success and growth of SCU. From time to time you'll see a reference to one of his Marketing Monday posts from the SCU or GoingPro archives.